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January Warmth. Huron River, Ann Arbor, Michigan.

I have a lot of Mormon friends. Although they are commonly referred to as Mormons, they prefer to be referred to as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (or LDS for short). My LDS friends are fantastic, and the ‘fruits of the spirit’ that they exhibit, their moral values, and families are a great demonstration of their faith. I’m almost hesitant to talk about tithing and LDS matters, as I don’t want to be labeled as an anti-Mormon (I’m not), and I’ll probably have a couple thousand folks filling out missionary reference cards about me. However my friends also know that I like spirited debates, I have an 'open mind', and they don’t mind that this non-LDS (yet) person comes along for their camping trips.

Mitt Romney just released his tax forms (Washington Post tax documents), and it’s quite possible that it’ll open up a debate that has existed within LDS circles for quite a while. The debate centers around a key question – should they tithe 10% before or after taxes? As a reminder, although Romney has donated more than 10% to charities, tithing is based on how much is given directly to the church.

Tithing Based on Adjusted Gross Income

In 2010, Romney’s adjusted gross income was $21,646,507 and he would tithe $1,525,000 to The Church of Latter-Day Saints. The tithe would represent a 7.0% tithe to the church – below the 10% rule that is set by the church. In 2011, Romney’s adjusted gross income was $20,901,075 and he would tithe $2,600,000 to the church. That tithe would represent a 12.4% tithe to the church – above the 10% rule. If you take the two tithes together, it would create an overall tithe that was 9.7% of the adjusted gross income. In other-words, his tithing was just below the 10% rule, and he would ‘catch-up’ in tithing in 2011. If he would’ve donated $100,000 more in 2011, he would have hit the 10% rule.

Tithing Based on Taxable Income

If we look at taxable income, then Romney would donate 8.9% of his income in 2010. That would represent a tithe that was still less than 10% of his taxable income – again, a possible violation of the 10% rule. However, if Romney was ‘slipping’ in his church duties, then he made up for it in 2011 as he would tithe 17.1% of his taxable income. This would create an overall tithing rate of 12.8% -- above the 10% tithing rule.